Keukenhof Tulip Festival

Today we left for the Keukenhof Gardens on the Keukenhof Tulip Festival tour from the port of Rotterdam. We had just been here 12 days earlier (see Keukenhof Flower Fields and Bulb Farm with Rembrandt House) via the port of Amsterdam. Today’s excursion however was offered by the De Buck Tour Company in cooperation with Princess Cruise lines and departed from Rotterdam.

Our drive time to the Keukenhof Gardens was 1 hour 35 minutes. Leaving the city, we saw the famous Erasmus Bridge which has cabling and a pylon built resembling a swan. We learned that Rotterdam was completely rebuilt after WWII due to intense bombing raids. The country itself consists of 12 provinces and 25% of its land mass resides below sea level. King Willem-Alexander coincidentally celebrated his 50th birthday in the Capital City of Amsterdam (Kings Day) just the day before our visit.

Port of Rotterdam

Erasmus Bridge

Architecture of the City

A Traditional Old-Style Windmill

On the drive we learned that in 1492, there would have been a castle standing on the grounds where the Kuekenhof gardens are today. If you wish to view the gardens on your own, your best bet is to reserve a B&B in the town of Lisse which is quaint little town right next to the gardens themselves.

We arrived for entry to the 68thKeukenhof Gardens Tulip show at 11:25am. Because we had been to the gardens just 12 days earlier we were excited to see what changes occurred in the tulip scenery. The first thing we noticed is that all the blooms were larger. Our previous visit had nice blooms but many of the tulips were yet to fully open.

68th Keukenhof Gardens Tulip Show

Main Entrance Tulip Display

We quickly turned left after the entry turnstiles and began retracing the steps from our earlier visit. This led us back down the path to Tulipomania. We proceeded in this fashion until we made it to the food court of Wilhelmina at the lake. From there we cut through to the indoor buildings that we had bypassed on our first visit.

Multi-Colored Row Tulips

Tulipomania

Tulip Design

Flowering Divides

Springtime at Keukenhof

Our first stop was at the Willem-Alexander building which was full of cut and container plants of all types. We also saw booths with paintings and other wares for purchase. Our second stop was at Beatrix Pavilion which was dedicated to orchids of all sizes, shapes, and colors.

Large Mosaic Vase inside Willem-Alexander

Mosaic Glass inside Willem-Alexander

Hanging baskets at Beatrix Lookout

Continuous Orchid Hearts Beatrix

Next we headed to the Mill area in search of that magical ham sandwich just in front of the Dutch Windmill under the roof titled Warme Beenham. The ham sandwich was 4.50 Euro with its special sauce and just as delicious as before. When photographing the Dutch Windmill on this occasion we noticed the design of the Mill allows for the rotation of the blades into the wind. We hadn’t noticed this before but on this visit the blades were distinctly in a different position and direction than before.

Warme Beenham Ham Sandwich

Dutch Windmill

As we journeyed to the fountain and Music Box at the Irene Pavilion (a.k.a. the meeting point) we weaved in and about the paths of the Keukenhof Gardens for final photos during this excursion.On the way we stumbled across the Dutch Colors theme exclusive to the 2017 season. We had totally overlooked this on the prior visit.

2017 Dutch Design Flower Mosaic

Dutch Design Flower Mosaic

In and about the Garden Paths

Flower Patch near Irene Pavilion

Our group met up at the Irene Pavilion at 2:15pm where we walked back to our bus. Our tour guide mentioned that hundreds of different companies plant the bulbs and maintain the displays at the gardens both in the fall and spring. Over 7 million bulbs are planted in the gardens annually. We arrived back at the bus and departed from the Keukenhof Gardens at 2:45pm arriving back to the pier at 3:50pm. All in all a good day out, but once again not enough time to see everything.

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Welcome to my Blog

This blog is dedicated to the shore excursions that I take while cruising the world’s oceans and rivers. I hope to enlighten you about distant lands or places you may like to visit. If my experience can provide you with information to make a good and informed choice, I have done my job.